


A Metaphorical Lunch

by JustAnotherFlightlessBird



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Band, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Future Fic, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, No Smut, References to Depression, Robot/Human Relationships, Robots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2020-05-20 12:14:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19376509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherFlightlessBird/pseuds/JustAnotherFlightlessBird
Summary: In a world where life insurance robots are built to make sure families never have to grieve again, Tyler-a newly built robot with the memories of his human past-must learn to navigate himself now that he's a little bit less real and a little bit more plastic.Josh says he's his own person, but Tyler disagrees. If he isn't the Tyler he was, than can he be anyone at all?





	1. Tyler Joseph

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler comes home after being assembled, and tension is high among those who remember his death.

Tyler doesn't much remember being a baby the first time around- even the state of the art technology of the 22nd century couldn't extract memories of being a newborn child- but, the second time he does remember.

He supposes the only real difference between the two versions of emptiness in his existence, is the amount of motor skills he possessed the second time compared to the first; besides looking like his adult self and the tests ran to make sure he could swim, walk, talk and generally subsist, like a baby he was completely naive and clueless to the world. 

He remembers spending hours between checkups and tests, just looking at the backs of his hands, how lines ebbed and flowed in long complex patterns across his skin, how they looked so carefully designed and perfected.

"How strange to exist" he'd think.

That was, until they gave him his memories again, then he'd forgotten all about what it felt like to be indifferent to existence, and remembers only the phantom imitation of it from his memory of being empty and a baby. 

Despite what they told him initially, he'd noticed quickly that he doesn't have all of his memories; there are gaps in his processors that he can't explain. Fake and synthetic scars on his hands and knees that he doesn't remember getting, and flashes of faces wandering his head that he can't remember meeting. 

It's only when he's settled somewhat at the life preservation facility that they explain that his insurance didn't cover all of it -all of his memories, mostly- and that they gave him only the parts of himself he can afford. 

Soon after this revelation, he was told his mother would be over to pick him up in a few hours, and given a bright yellow armband to wear outside.

"It's the law" the woman had explained, "People weren't so keen on having humanoid androids walking about, and not being able to tell them apart from across the street"

He nods agreeably, and waits patiently- with the armband on -for his mum.

 _Better to be only fragments of yourself_ , he thought as he sat in the waiting room,  _than nothing at all_

* * *

 

 

"Your room is exactly the same as you..." she hesitates and releases a soft exhale from her nose, "as you left it, Tyler"

"Thank you" he says gently; curtly. 

When he looks up through the window, the house glares back at him with a foreign familiarity. 

"Shall we make our way inside?" he offers. 

Somehow, his mum seems even more put off by the polite suggestion. The lines on her forehead deepen with the fore of her tense smile. 

Tyler feels the space between his eyebrows crease in distress; he doesn't know how to be himself anymore and it seems his mother is picking up on that. 

Without a word, she begins to make her way out, opening the car door and picking up her bag. Tyler's default programming urges him to copy her awkward and jagged movements, as its social integration features kick in to try and make her feel at ease. 

Instead, Tyler ignores the suggestion and searches the few memories he can muster to try and imitate his old posture and walking patterns. When he makes his way up the driveway, his mum seems to physically relax, as she watches how he makes his way towards her. 

"Okay, so" she begins, "everyone's waiting in the living room to see you; now I know you didn-, I'm sorry,  _don't_ like to be the centre of...of attention, but" 

She pauses to look at him with an odd sort of franticness in her eyes. Her brow is curved downward, and her eyes flit between Tyler's facial features at regular intervals. Nose. Mouth. Eyes. Nose. Mouth. Eyes.

He tracks the movement, but Tyler's recognition software can't seem to interpret what it means. 

"but you're here now, and they've missed you" she finishes softly. 

Tyler nods his understanding and waits patiently for her to open the door.

When they finally walk into the living room, the room goes silent from the gentle rumble of activity he had heard from the front doorway.

He sees Maddie, and Zack and Jay all splayed out on the couch, the usually easy-going smiles he thinks he remembers are gone and replaced by wide stares. They look as if they've seen a ghost. 

Well, Tyler guesses in a way, they have. 

There's a poorly put together banner hanging on the wall above their heads, it reads  _'Welcome home, Tyler!'_ , but the letters are jagged and threaten to fall off, half hanging, half sticking against their background. 

Together they stare at Tyler with an intensity he doesn't think he likes. 

His processors whirr noiselessly and searches his memories to try and think of an appropriate response. 

What would  _Tyler Joseph_ have said?

 _Inconclusive enquiry,_ _insufficient data for predictable response_ is returned.

A number of suggested responses invite themselves as an alternative and so Tyler says nothing. He doesn't predict they'll take well to a preconstructed response AI response. 

The first person to react, as it turns out, was actually Robert, Tyler's grandfather. He pulls himself up and spreads his arms out in a graceful extension of limbs.

Tyler hadn't forgotten so much as to forget how much he enjoyed his hugs, and so he leapt in without complaint, wrapping his own arms around his grandad, who felt frail and stiff under him. Despite it though, the hug was nice and although Tyler couldn't feel warmth anymore, he still nestled himself into the older man's shoulder, mumbling a greeting into the soft fabric of his jumper. 

"Glad we could get you back, Tyler"

This seemed to trigger an influx of reactions all around, his siblings jumping up to drag him into similar embraces. Tyler remembered less of their hugs, and so was more apprehensive of what to do. He opted to copy the way he'd done it before, with his grandfather. 

This was meant to be an emotional reunion, and so he was sure Jay would forgive him if he clung to him more vigorously than maybe he might have done before the accident, since he was supposed to be his brother. 

"You're warm" came a note of surprise from Maddie, when she gets her turn.

"Yeah, I am" he squeezed her harder and was satisfied to feel her nestle herself further into his arms.

"Didn't expect that" she whispered, "thought you'd be cold and fake, like a robot"

Tyler refrained from correcting her, automatic and involuntary explanations about the purposeful efforts made to make him seem perfectly human popping up in his processors. Instead of saying any of them, he pulled away and smiles at her, squeezing her shoulders once more before turning over to Zack, who was patiently waiting. 

"You gave us a real scare" Zack ruffled his hair teasingly, "I hate being the eldest sibling"

"Yeah, well, hope you didn't get used to it, I'm back to whoop your ass back into shape every time you annoy me in the slightest"

Zack's grin widens momentarily, losing its manic edge and melting into something genuine.

"It's good to have you back, dude" he murmurs, pulling Tyler by the back of his head into an embrace.

"Let's not overwhelm him" chimed the voice of their father, "I can imagine being reborn is tiring business"

Again, Tyler doesn't tell them that he can't feel tired, and also that being assembled is relatively seamless on his part, as he's put together by  _other_ machines. He turns to his father, though, and is ready to smile gratefully his way, but stops before his synthetic lips can so much as twitch, as he takes in the expression worn on his dad's face. 

It's pained in a way dissimilar to his mother, she had been wary, but somewhat excited, the edges of barely wavering grief still hung her eyes in a way that made her looking at him feel like she was looking at his photo at his funeral, rather than his pickup at a life insurance clinic, but the warmth was there all the same.

Chris Joseph had no such warmth in his eyes, the grief is hidden and where his mother has aggrieved recognition, his father has estranged trepidation. 

He looks at Tyler as though he is a monster waiting to shed its fangs and attack the second he turns his back, and when Tyler looks at him in the eyes, the smile he gets in return, that might have been intended to come off placantingly, just comes off looking like his dad is baring his teeth in warning. 

Suddenly, the hug he had been ready to offer seems like a bad idea to his behavioural software. 

"I'm okay" he says in response, "Glad to be back, if anything"

Chris just hums shortly, eyes shifting between Tyler and the rest of the family. His lips harden into a flat line.

"Well, who's hungry?" Kelly asks, but her eyes are settled firmly on Tyler, "I made your favourite!"

"Oh fuck yeah" Jay exclaims, with his fist extended into the air, "I'm starving!"

"Language" She chastises, as they all begin to chatter and make their way obediently to the kitchen table.

Tyler follows behind them too, and chooses not to mention how he can no longer taste food. 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh jeez, here we go; I'm terrible at updating, but I already have this fic mostly planned out!  
> I hope I actually find the motivation to finish this one, and I hope you all don't think it's too rambly.
> 
> I'm very aware of my tendency to ramble, and that too much text and not enough dialogue can get a little boring, but I'm trying to be better about balancing those. 
> 
> Comments will always make me smile uncontrollably, if you'd spare the time! Thank you so much for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Tyler rises up and out of his room at 6am, and is surprised to see anyone awake. There's the sound of shuffling and clanking coming from the kitchen, and he hears the fridge open and close before he makes his way towards the sound to investigate.

There's a man by the stove, he's peculiar in his movement; it's sure, and confident and he moves with a fluidity as though he is conscious of every bend of his arm and drag of his feet. It's glorious to behold, and easy for Tyler to be jealous of- he finds he doesn't think he is sure of anything he does anymore. 

The man's back is turned against him, but he's dressed in a uniform that has Dema's logo plastered onto the back, so he is clearly a civil servant of some kind. He is thin, but fit; lithe and healthy, and Tyler shifts his stance to try and catch a glance at what he is doing.

Tyler's movement seemed to have caught the man's eye, however, and he turns in surprise with brown, intelligent eyes.

"Oh, hello!" He exclaims, surprised, "You must be Tyler" he offers.

Tyler regards him with a curious gaze, but he nods stoically. 

"Ahh, Zach warned me just a few days ago that you were coming soon. My name is Josh, it's nice to meet you" and he extends a firm, calloused hand for Tyler to shake, which he does. It is warm in his palm, and Tyler's advanced sensors can sense the pulsing of blood just beneath his skin. 

Josh is human.

"Very firm handshake you've got there, Ty" He says in good humour, and Tyler realises he had been studying the man's face for too long for it to be unnoticeable. The blush that rises on his cheeks is genuine, courtesy of Dema's truly advanced technology. 

Josh searches his face for a second, and after a few seconds seems to decide something. He turns back towards the stove with a kind smile, back to preparing whatever it is he's preparing with the same sure movements Tyler had admired just minutes ago. 

It takes a few more seconds more him to find his voice.

"What are you doing here?" he asks, bluntly, before catching himself and amending to, "I mean, sorry, I don't think I remember you; did I know you before I was-" and he hesitates a moment, "-before?" 

"No need to apologise for being yourself, friend" Josh scolds him gently, which confuses Tyler a little, who isn't sure he's entirely sure what to make of the comment, "But, nah, don't worry; your parents hired me just a few months ago, before they'd assembled you completely"

"And they hired you to-" Tyler spares a quick glance at the stove, "-make pancakes?"

Josh releases a puff of amusement, "Sorry, no, I was actually hired to take care of your grandpa" and Tyler's eyes widen in surprise, "Yeah, his dementia's been getting steadily worse, and your family can't really the spare the time it takes to tend to him"

"Oh, I- I didn't know" He frowns in confusion, "I don't remember him getting sick"

"Well, from what I heard it's been going on a while; probably another one of those memories you lost in the transfer"

"Yeah" Tyler says softly, a crease building between his eyebrows. 

"Hey, don't worry about it" Josh says, noticing the tense atmosphere, "You have plenty of time to learn all about it, and he's not gone yet"

The man starts to pull the pan off the stove, ready to flip it. 

"Tell you what, you can help me flip these and then we'll bring them up to your grandpa together"

Tyler smiles happily, "Yeah, I'd love that Josh" 

Josh chuckles gleefully, "Well come on then, Tyler"

* * *

It's been 3 months since he got back from the clinic, and things have been tense between Tyler and his dad, who outright ignores the android when he's in the room, if not to give him simple orders to acknowledge him.

"You're not my son" He'd said one night, when they'd past each other in the corridor. It had frozen Tyler, who had no clue what to make of the exchange, and who just watched as his father stalked down to his bedroom door without another word. 

His mother, he notices, seemed to be trying her hardest to forget Tyler was ever gone; always avoiding the subject of that tense time in between old Tyler and new Tyler, always urging him to eat more because he's "too skinny", always talking about when he'll have his own children. 

Maddie, Zach and Jay don't seem to know how to take it- at first they had been more than eager to spend time with him, but something about the way he acted, or the things he didn't know bothered them and they'd been spending more and more time away from him.

The only people who seemed to be able to spend time with Tyler without worried or masks were Josh and his grandad. Tyler found his software had a nicer time processing their motives, and not having to interpret double meanings in their words; it made it much easier to be around them. He thinks maybe he enjoyed their company. 

"So, what're we doing today then, Robert?" Came Josh's voice, chirpily, "Backpacking in the French Alps? Sky diving out of German planes?"

Robert, with those trembling limbs that seemed to betray his age to Tyler constantly, slowly picked up his tea from the tray the android was presenting to him, shakily bringing it up to his lips. 

"How about _bear hunting in Sweden?"_ Josh continued with a dramatic flare to his arms.

"You Josh seem to really like the idea of travelling to Europe" Robert commented calmly, now dunking a biscuit into his drink contentedly. 

"Of course! What better place to travel? I'm too pale to go anywhere hotter" 

"That's true; perhaps you'd do good in Antarctica, bothering the penguins rather than me" Tyler was content watching them both squabble between themselves, smiling at every which comment. Something about them both made it so he never felt left out, but rather didn't feel any pressure to speak. They managed to include him in their own ways, and he could just observe and think. 

"Nah, extreme weather in general gets me, it's why I always have to have the heating up tenfold in this place" 

"The heating is up because I'm old and my skin is thin and frail"

"Lies"

"What's with the arm band, Chris?" He said abruptly, turning to look at Tyler. The android was taken aback, and frowned slightly at the man, but recovered quickly. This happened sometimes.

"I need the armband legally, otherwise we'd have to pay a fine"

He knew better than to correct the comment about his name. 

Some days Robert didn't remember his age; some days he even forgot who Josh, and even Tyler, were. It was always harder on those days, but still, something about it comforted Tyler- to know he wasn't the only one with gaps in his memory. 

"It's also just a great accessory; you've been out of the loop a long time, Robert- fashion has a new retro armband style now" Josh chimed in, cheekily, though there was something sad behind his eyes. 

"It does?" Said Robert

"Yeah" Tyler replied softly, making direct eye contact with his grandpa. He saw the man's eyes glaze over slightly before becoming seemingly clear again. 

"What's with the arm band, Chris?" He said, and Josh really did frown this time, and pushed lightly on Robert's shoulder.

"It's just a new accessory, Robert; I think it'd do you good to lie down now, though"

Tyler took that as his queue to leave, and got up to go downstairs. There was something uncomfortable sitting in his chest, though he dismissed the thought as absurd. A suggestion popped up in his head, a feeling that maybe he should've stayed with Josh and his grandpa instead of running away. Maybe there was something comforting about not being the only one missing memories, but there was also something horrible about it.   
  
"Hi Tyler" His mother said from her place on the sofa.

"Hello" he replied. 

"I'm watching Doctor Who; remember we used to love that show. Come come, it's right where we left off a few months ago" 

Tyler walked stiffly over from where he was standing at the bottom of the stairs and went and sat with his mother. On the screen there was a man, brown haired and proper looking, with a long brown coat and a frantic look in his eyes.

Tyler didn't recognise him at all.

Perhaps just another one of those memories Dema had dismissed as unimportant in the grand scheme of things. What was one memory of a show compared to every other memory of his life? Nothing, Tyler supposed. Nothing at all.

He lay back, defeated, and looked up at the TV with a weary feeling, doing his very best to pretend to follow along with the story of which he knew nothing. 


End file.
